US Military Satellite Launched After 15-Year Hold

A US military weather satellite, refurbished after more than a decade in storage, blasted off aboard an unmanned Atlas 5 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a live webcast of the launch showed. Text: Reuters

In Pic: An Atlas 5 ULA (United Launch Alliance) rocket carrying a satellite for the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on April 3, 2014. Photo: Reuters

The sleek, 191-foot-tall (58-meter) rocket, built by United Launch Alliance, lifted off at 10:46 am EDT (1446 GMT) to put the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program or DMSP spacecraft into a 530-mile-high (853 km) orbit passing over Earth's poles.

United Launch Alliance is a partnership of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co.

The $518 million satellite, known as DMSP-19 and built by Lockheed Martin, joins six other operational DMSP satellites already in orbit.

In Pic: The Atlas V rocket carrying the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-19 spacecraft Thursday April 3, 2014, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The U.S. military weather satellite is headed for for a polar orbit. Photo: AP

The US Air Force was prepared to launch DMSP-19 about 15 years ago, but the satellites in orbit were lasting much longer than expected so it went into storage instead, said Scott Larrimore, weather program director at the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles.

The same fate may await the 20th and final DMSP satellite, which is being built now and targeted to launch in 2020.

The Air Force, however, is mulling whether to fly it at all or launch it early to avoid costly storage fees, among other options, Larrimore told reporters during a pre-launch conference call on March 27.

In Pic: An Atlas 5 rocket is launched at Vandenberg Air Force Base from Space Launch Complex-3 on Thursday, April 3, 2014. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the 19th Defense Meteorological Satellite Program spacecraft blasted off at 7:46 a.m. PDT and quickly rose into the cold, clear sky above the launch site on the Pacific coast about 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The satellite will circle the Earth in a polar orbit at an altitude of about 525 miles (847 kilometers). Photo: AP

That discussion is part of a larger effort to reassess military space programs in an attempt to cut costs, take advantage of new technologies and partner with other agencies when possible, he added.

The US Air Force already shares data with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and will be stepping up the partnership in a new generation of weather satellites designed to serve both military and civilian needs.

It also is looking into a supplemental satellite program that can fly on smaller rockets, such as Orbital Sciences Corp's Minotaur.

In Pic: An Atlas 5 rocket launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base from Space Launch Complex-3 on Thursday, April 3, 2014. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the 19th Defense Meteorological Satellite Program spacecraft blasted off at 7:46 a.m. PDT and quickly rose into the cold, clear sky above the launch site on the Pacific coast about 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The satellite will circle the Earth in a polar orbit at an altitude of about 525 miles (847 kilometers). Photo: AP

DMSP-19, which is designed to last five years, is equipped with visible light and infrared cameras to image clouds - day and night - and sensors to measure precipitation, temperatures and soil moisture.

The DMSP satellites also collect data about the oceans, solar storms that affect Earth and other global meteorological conditions.

In Pic: Spectators and media watch as an Atlas 5 rocket launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base from Space Launch Complex-3 on Thursday, April 3, 2014. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the 19th Defense Meteorological Satellite Program spacecraft blasted off at 7:46 a.m. PDT and quickly rose into the cold, clear sky above the launch site on the Pacific coast about 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The satellite will circle the Earth in a polar orbit at an altitude of about 525 miles (847 kilometers). Photo: AP